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You treat death like it is a privilege and not an inevitable event. Yes, death is a single instance, for it is final. After death, the soul moves on. After time, it may be reborn or it may not be. There should be no un-death, nor un-life. I think it is an abomination.

You who act so high and mighty, making it a privilege for there to be dead. If things never died, then nothing would progress. There would be no need to. Everything would be stagnate. Pruinus would not need to challenge mortals, for they wouldn't attempt it. They would succeed anyways eventually, or not. There is no motivation. Agni's heat would no longer warm them, for they wouldn't need it. They just wouldn't die if it was there or not.

You wish to witness death Pruinus, then I shall show you: Zebus grabs a berry from the sprig and no sooner than he touches it, that it starts to die and wither away, to return to dust again. That is death. When life is no more, then only death remains. I don't seek to conquer life, I seek to balance it.

Zebus blows the dust from the berry over to Leaf and the berry starts to grow again in Leaf's presence.

From life to death, and from death comes new life. That is what I wish.

Pruinus began to find this squabble irritable. They could discuss Life and Death for an eternity if they wished, for all the good it would do.

She wondered how her companions might react if she were to start working on the planet this instant. Or simply declare her winter now. Such thoughts amused her, but she know they were reckless. She sensed this squabble slowly coming to an end and told herself to be patient. She could manage that. At least a while longer.

"Of course, dear Pruinus, as you wish." Leaf extended his hand and the seed of power returned to him. His fingers closed around it, and his leafy veins pulsed with light as the power was reabsorbed into his body. "At your leave. Let us part, then, for a time, I to establish life, and you to challenge it as you will."

The littlest god turned to Agni, craning his neck so he could look at the glowing mask of a god. "That is a seed: the smallest part has a blueprint for the whole. I had thought that perhaps it might create servants for you. Beings of fire and form. But take it, think on it, and make changes according to what pleases you."

Then Leaf looked at Zebus, and there was sorrow in his eyes. "Yes... I was a fool, to think you were ready. Zebus, lord of death... you have defied your betters. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you would keep these barren realms, much in need of a flood of life and fire and ice, in the horrors of a meaningless balance! You are unworthy of your powers, you're unworthy of your domain, you are unworthy... of the devotion of those you have rejected! I now separate you from life!"

Leaf reached out towards Zebus. The other god's sword, a long curved blade of shadow and death, flew out of its sheath and into Leaf's hand. Thorny vines spouted from his arm and twisted around the blade. Unaffected by its blade, the plants squeezed, and squeezed tighter, until an unseen part of its very essence cracked. "In the name of the ordered world and the natural law, I, Leaf, lord of creation, cast you out!"

The vines retreated from the sword and the blade it flew back at its master, and the flat of the weapon slammed into his chest, pushing the god back a few inches. But the little lord was not finished. His eyes were as hard as thorns as he reached for his lance. He threw it at the ground before Zebus' feet. Its fire-hardened tip, from when he had threatened Agni with it, sparked on the barren stone, causing a shower of embers to spread between then. Where each ember landed, lightning reached up to the sky. When the light faded, an army of beings stood between Zebus and the other gods. Leaf’s own spear had been turned to dust in the process.

Each creature shone with fierce light. They had two arms each, and a head, but no faces. Great wings spread out from their backs, and their lower halves tapered into wisps of essence. In every hand was a sword or shield. And they were all pointed at Zebus.

"These are the guardian angels. They will protect all life from your thieving touch. Go, now, and think about how meaningless one god, alone, is. "

Leaf turned to the other gods and said, "Shall we go about our work, then? There is life to create, fire to build, frozen lands to craft."

[sblock=AP]3AP Populate Populace: Guardian Angelsare immortal servants of the gods/Leaf. They're tasked with preventing Zebus/Death from interfering with life. Even though they aren't planar beings (yet), if one of them is fatally injured, they're teleported to wherever Leaf is with 1hp, instead of dying. He heals them, gathers information, wipes the memories of their most recent life away, and sends them back out into the world to continue their work.

Non-AP: Leaf makes it so that living creatures are like extraplanar beings, too. They don't die of old age, but when they would normally die either from age or injury, they're instead teleported away with 1hp remaining. The creature is then reverted to an infant version of its species and placed back into the world elsewhere. Plants are turned into seeds, for example. Animals would be reverted to embryos or eggs or whatever. The memories and skills of the old life are there, but suppressed. I'm not spending AP on this because it's meant to be temporary, lasting just until Leaf and Zebus make up, but let me know if I should spend AP instead.

Non-AP: Leaf makes it so that life develops and adapts to its environment within a single life. Like the Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics, except a single life form never dies, and it can amass these acquired characteristics to the point where evolution happens to it itself. I didn't spend AP because this, to, isn't meant to be permanent, just lasting until Leaf and Zebus make up.

But Leaf's actions had had unintended consequences. The appearance of an army - made in part with Agni's own element! - had startled, unnerved and angered the Flamelord. An army of ... angels... would be a threat, even to a God.

What right do you have to unilaterally decide such things, Tealord? Agni fumed, bright eyes glaring down at the tiny God before it.

I do not appreciate the notion that one day you may decide that I no longer have a place in your perfect creation, Leaf. What you do with your Life is your own business, but I am just as much a part of Creation as you are, as the ColdMother is, as the Deathlord is, even if you deny it. An army of servants does not make you more right than before.

Agni took a few 'steps' away from the others. He and Pruinus could not work together, that was clear. Leaf grew more concerning with every word that came from its mouth, and Zebus... had already made enemies. Agni hovered on the edge of flight away from the others and towards the rising Sun, waiting... for something.

Leaf raised a hand with his palm up. A sign, he hoped, to indicate he meant no ill towards Agni. "You saw with your own eyes Zebus steal the life of those berries -- gifts to Pruinus, dedicated to her! -- after he had rejected my repeated offer to give life to him. I an willing to allow offenses against me to go unpunished. Indeed, you turned me back after I tried to ignore his first insult. But I will never suffer insult to you or Pruinus. If I could, I would cast him out of existence itself! But I cannot, so I only cast him out of my domain. And, since he has already proven himself a thief and a waster of time, I created servants to guard life against him so that I may turn my attentions elsewhere."

"You and Pruinus have no need to fear them. If you but ask it, I will give you authority over the guardian angels and make them answerable to you."

EDIT

Leaf glanced over at Zebus, behind the line of angels. "When my anger over his offense to Pruinus fades, and he comes to his senses, perhaps then he will join us. On that day, I will replace distrust with trust, anger with love, banishment with embracement, dishonor with glory. It is my deepest wish that death and I not be estranged, but I cannot dictate his behavior."

He turned back away and saw a large, winged, stoney creature. "Look, lord Agni. That appears to be a new creature, not of any of our devising. Another god, perhaps. It is rude of us, not to go greet him."

Now more so then ever, Pruinus found that the Mother half of her title quite fitting.

Her she was, watching over her children squabble and bicker. Yet, in her time here in this place with them, she came to accept them as her own children, and they were family. She didn't want to see her family separated and torn apart. Life & Death may not have to get on with each other, but she feared should this conflict get any more intense she would be forced to intervene, or witness one or both of her children be slain.

And if Life & Death went to war, she would have to pick a side. She didn't think she could do this. She didn't like to contradict her earlier comments, but she had only intended for Life & Death to be rivals, not sworn enemies ready to tear each other apart.

"Leaf, calm yourself dear. Zebus meant no harm to me or our creation, he was merely demonstrating the ideals of his concept. No harm has been done."

She couldn't blame either of them for their stubborness. She herself only agreed to work with Leaf under the condition they are treated as equals.Pruinus focused for a second and felt another sprig of Winter Berries in her palm.

"All that was lost was a fruit, so easily replaced. Had he meant us harm, he would feel my wrath also."

Pruinus also gazed up to the new creature before them.

"Yes, let us speak with our new friend. And please, try to be civil. We don't want our new friend to see us capable only of drama and conflict."

She gestured towards Zebus.

"You shall come too. Leaf does not have to approve, but I consider you my ally."

Reaching forward with the berry inbetween her fingers, Pruinus crushed it above his cup, letting the juice pour into his tea, changing the colour every so slightly, adding a dark reddish hue to it.

"Please. Taste for yourself how sweet fruit born of co-operation and respect for one another can be."

Unemotional, Onus watched the proceedings below him, unsure of what has transpired to cause such rift among the others. But, since he was called, he decends to the planet with the others. As he sets down upon the planet, his immense form causes the ground to crumble and buckle, sending up a ring of mountains around a deep valley where he stands. His voice is a deep, slow rumble, Greetings, I am... Onus. He stares intently, though unemotionally at those before him.

Leaf smiled at Agni and nodded, "Of course." He turned to the guardian angels and ordered them to follow the commands of Agni and Pruinus, to submit to their will, and to never raise hand or weapon against them.

He turned his head -- though, on one so small, it was hard to tell -- towards Pruinus. "If you ask it of me, I will consent to parlay with him yet again. But before you ask of me, I would ask something of you. He rejected me once, and I would have walked away, leaving him to his own devices, if it had not been for Agni. Zebus rejected me twice and insulted you -- you say he did not offend, but the slightest insult to you wounds me to my core -- and I have cast the last trace of him out from my domain and would leave him to his own devices. If I give him a third chance, and if he again rejects me, what then? Will you then support me in my wrath?"

The mighty Onus then descended to the planet and introduced himself. Leaf, tiny, oh so tiny before this mountain, strode forward seven steps and inclined his head with the proper amount of respect. "Greetings, Onus. I am Leaf. This fiery face is Agni, the Lord Flamberlain, and this icy lady is Pruinus, the Prime Winister. We are the elder gods. He behind us, who'll perhaps yet have his worth judged, is Zebus. I do apologize that the onus was on you, oh Onus, to introduce yourself. Will you forgive and dein to join us in our work in this world?"

Deep in the ether, a pair of lights flare into existence. These blazes of creation, of brilliant kaleidoscope colors, orbit one another in an intricate dance of birth and purpose. Their light intermingles as they draw close to one another, racing to the echo of divine footfalls in the far distance. They did not speak, but simply understood the other in the sense that only gods could. United.

The race intensified as they rocketed toward their goal, and soon they began to spiral. Faster. Faster. Faster. The dust and motes of creation appeared and vanished far behind them into the darkness. But suddenly, they felt… something: A pull of terrifying strength that clashed the twins together, only for them to ricochet off the other in an attempt to escape the fell clutch. They turned towards the other in midflight and summoning their fledgling strength, sent waves of force like a wedge between them. They bounced and struggled as they flew, but the distance between them was surely thinning. Faster. Faster. Faster. They had felt joy, and now knew only horror at the inevitable.

The rocky mass loomed into sight. A speck at first, it then swiftly enveloped their vision. There was no distance between them now, and they felt the first wave of anguish as their bodies fused at the fringes of their essence. The planet drew closer and closer, grew larger and larger, and the twins felt themselves enveloped in light…and each other.

A warped scream echoed into the ether and, having no boundaries in the darkness, was lost forever.

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. -Revelation 21:6

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.-John Donne, Meditation XVII

There was a crash. Uneven layers of stone were crushed and pushed aside. The light flared in brilliance once more, and then vanished. A gentle tremor flowed through the bones of the planet and then... was still.

Hours? Months? Centuries? Only Seconds?

He felt consumed with pain-a pain that was as integral to him as his deific essence. It coursed through his misshappen body at the terrible pounding of his twisted hearts, and defied his commands that it stop, or at least fade away. He also felt...

something. An innate and horrible wrongness with his whole being. He would scream, but he felt soo tired-so sick. Things moved and pulsed and convulsed within his body, gowing into boils and cysts that seemed to churn with thier own life. Then the sickness took one pair of his eyes, dragging it into the depths of film-ridden blindness. Sores grew into patches of grey and black within his mouth; the tounge of his other head shriveled and grew dry.

He scrapped his hands over his body, rending flesh from his back and tearing open scabs and growths alike to let the pus ooze freely.

He shook with agony, and with sickness, and even more from dread.

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. -Revelation 21:6

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.-John Donne, Meditation XVII

I wish I could come with you my dear Pruinus, but Leaf deigns that life is superior to all. That all must live forever and will never die. For that he dares to disrupt the balance, but I shall let him have his way for now. He will one day learn, but until that day comes I will be watching.

Leaf you made these creations. An army for them to command. And they are a faceless army. Let us give them a face shall we? And maybe a will!

Zebus turns himself into a mist and passes through the entire army, and in the blink of an eye, he reforms in front of the gods. The guardian angels once faceless, now slowly start to sport features upon their faces. Upon those faces, emotions start to run as they now have thoughts and wills of their own as the souls in their bodies start to burst forth.

Your creations, may be guardians, and I may be a god of death, but I am not thoughtless. I have only given them two things: a soul, and a face to reflect it! Maybe they can teach you all what I can not!

Now, my fellow beings, I bid you farewell for now. Onus, I wish our meeting wasn't as eventful nor as short as it may be, but maybe one day we can sit and chat, until then, farewell!

Onus crouched down at the approach of the little Leaf and folded his wings behind him, resting his hands on his knees. He nodded slightly as he listened and after a moment replied in his slow gravelly voice, I cannot forgive you, little Leaf, for to do so would imply that I found insult or injustice with what has occurred. As for your work... I feel it is a burden I was meant to share in...

His eyes don't move off of Leaf as the sword hurtles toward him, but at the last moment one of his wings snaps out and the sword of magma slams into it, leaving a thin rivulet of magma running down as it slides slowly off his wing and into his outstreched hand below. He stands as he looks down at the sword with seeming disintrest, the magma churning and flowing though it still held its form. The skin of his hand pulsed slightly with the power and veins of glowing red began to appear in them. Your heat quickens my pulse, FlameLord. What is this purpose you would give to me?

What purpose? The purpose of holding that which I and or the ColdMother have created, for we cannot interact with one another without considerable unpleasantness ensuing. You have passed my test, for you hold my superior blade in your hand. You shall act as an insulator, an intermediary between myself and the ColdMother. But now, StoneLord... Can you handle the element of Cold as well as Fire?

Pruinus herself felt no need to whisper to the Deathlord, he intentions had been clear enough. At least this way she would not have to confront Leaf's question, she did not want to fall out of his favour.

This new creature seemed pleasant enough. He seemed honest at least, but in a less bothersome way then Leaf's mockery of leadership and Agni's threats and grumbles.

Pruinus sighed at the blade in Onu's wing.

"Truly Agni, was there any purpose in testing your theory on our new friend himself? He could have been hurt, or broken."

She looked down at the ring of mountains on the planet. She liked the shape and configuration of it very much. However, she believed she could add more flair to it.

"Onus, I presume these mountains are of the same hardiness of yourself.Let us see how they withstand the burden ofcold."

Pruinus snaps her fingers once, causing mighty glaciers to burst from the earth's surface, stabbing into the mountains, their jagged edges grinding into hard stone, clouds of dust raising up into the atmosphere. As the dust cleared away, the glaciers that had torn through the mountains had appeared to have been creating with intent; the south edge of the ring had mountains and glaciers supporting each other to create a sharp tower of ice and rock, causing the ring of mountains to somewhat resemble a crown or a tiara. From such a great distance, the glaciers even resembled glistening sapphires upon this "Crown"

"Hmmm, these mountains appear to be quite stubborn. Well, now we have a glorious structure to crown our planet. It is starting to look somewhat more attractive I believe."

---

AP Command Land - 1 AP to create a ring of glaciers around and inside the mountains themselves, positioned in order to make the ring of mountains to resemble a crown.

It had always been my intentions to create a ring of icy mountains and glaciers atop of the planet which resemble a crown, and have this as the region which Pruinus has the most control of. @Crimson Vampire: Apologies if you do not like what I have done with your creation, and feel free to state so to Pruinus or destroy the glaciers outright if you wish.

It sounded like we could also RP non-gods, right? It looks like there wasn't a special requirement in past games, but let me know if I'm doing something wrong.

It didn't have a name. It hadn't wondered why it didnt have a name before. It wondered why it was only now that it wondered that it didn't have a name before.

Good question, It thought.

The thought surprised It, because it wasn't its own thought.

Who said that? It thought back.

I did.

Who are you?

I'm me.

Not you're not, I'm me.

The internal discussion, however, was interrupted. Not far from It, a guardian angel cried out. It shouldn't look, It knew that much. It hadn't been ordered to look, It couldn't look. Except, curiosity got the better of It and It did look. It didn't have time to marvel at how it was able to act without orders, for one simple reason.

It screamed.

There was something horribly, horribly wrong with that angel's face. It had been mangled beyong all recognition. It was hideous! It looked away, but It couldn't erase the nightmarish image from its mind.

And It saw another angel, with an equally malformed face. And another. All of them were that way. Where had the perfection gone, the beautiful smoothness, the flawlessness?

Am I...? Other-It thought.

It reached up and touched its own face. And its screams reached the farthest corners of creation.

It fell to the ground and beat its fists upon the rock in anguish. It looked up and yelled at the injustice. And the other voice in its head yelled with it.

But there was Zebus before them. He had done this.

And It felt shame. In all its life, It had only wanted one thing. To protect life from such a monster. And It had failed. There was no storehouse of successes to soften the sorrow. Just failure.

It stood up and saw that its hands were covered in a thin gray layer of dust. It rubbed the dust on its face. Others near by saw and did likewise. They were all still hideous, but the dirt helped cover their shame. It raised one hand before its face, to help cover the hideous sight from others.

But there was Zebus before them. He had done this. He had done this!

It drew its sword and charged the god. It thrust the blade into Zebus' leg, sinking the sword up to the hilt.

And It shivered with pleasure. Ah, this was a need, a need to defend life against such a foul creature as this. And It had satisfied that need!

But the pleasure passed, and the anger remained. Eager not only to exact revenge but also to feel that pleasure again, It withdrew its blade and struck again.

Pleasure again.

Other angels must have seen what It was doing, for they joined in. An army, a swarm, flying, slashing, stabbing, tearing, screaming, yelling, shivering.

If someone had asked what It would do with its eternal life, if it could choose, It would have told them straight away, "I would hunt and kill Zebus."

I'm assuming defining Angel culture would require AP, though I don't mean this to be something that Leaf is doing: can I spend AP and have it not count in the eyes of other gods as coming from Leaf?

1AP: Command Angels. Define culture. In guardian angel culture, showing someone your face is the highest form of insult. It is absolutely taboo to show anyone your face, including yourself. At present the angels hide their faces as best they can, but as more resources become available, they will craft featureless masks and veils to wear.

Also, their culture is defined by their primal impulses: the orders they were under when Zebus gave them free-will have become those impulses. The deepest and most primal of those impulses is to protect life from Zebus' meddling. As such, their greatest pleasure comes from fulfilling that duty. And since Zebus messed with guardian angels, extracting revenge taps into that impulse (and rewards them with pleasure accordingly). It's like the feeling people get when they eat a tasty meal or engaged in "bedroom activities." And just as prevelant.

Unfortunately, since the angels don't have any experience with emotions, pleasure, and self control, they're in a crazy orgy of revenge. They'll calm down, eventually.

Non-Ap: Since all guardian angels were given an extra soul, they now all suffer from multiple personality disorder.

@Toph, will you be doing anything with that 2AP, or should I spend it on something else?

Pruinus watched the carnage unfold for a few moments, dumbfounded by the angels sudden violence towards Zebus. Around her, she commanded icicle spears to fling towards the angels, driving them away from Zebus.

"Hmm?" Leaf asked Agni. "Flamelord? Would you rather I call you that?"

Surprise crossed Leaf's face as the angels cried out, then confusion as the angel's charged Zebus. "Stop," he shouted to them. Pruinus hadn't needed to urge him so: their unexpected behavior was itself a cause for intervention. A few paused angels paused at Leaf's command and looked back at him, their faces covered by their hands. But, then, they deliberaly turned away again and attacked the god of death, hounding him as he left. Concern replaced confusion. "Pruinus, they will not listen to me. Zebus must have broken my control over them, but you try. By order, I hope he wasn't crazy enough to break your and Agni's control as well."

The goddesses ice-spears impailed angels right and left, but as was the order of life, they vanished and appeared next to Leaf. But before he could do anything, they rushed out again to harry the god that had wronged them.

As Leaf mulled the matter over in his mind, anger replaced concern. "That fool. What did he do to them?"

However, a smile broke through his anger. "I wonder if perhaps I have taken that one too seriously. He said that maybe his changes could teach us something. If he spoke truly, then it seems that he was trying to teach us how to laugh."

However, as Onus spoke, Leaf turned his full attention to him and listened with eager... well, leaves don't really have ears, but if they did, Leaf would have listened with eager ones of those. With the rock god's fine words, Leaf nearly lept with joy. "Thank you, dear Onus. If you would join us in building up this world, then I will devote myself to your welfare. I have no glory beyond that the glory of you, Pruinus, and Agni. Your enemies will be my enemies, your friends my friends. If there is anything you wish of me, you have only to ask and it will be given with both hands."

As Zebus was chased near Agni, the Lord Flamberlain spoke to him. It was clear that Agni wished to not be overheard, and Leaf wished to respect that. He took a step away and hummed to himself loudly, so that no hidden words might make their way to his... well, again, leaves don't have ears. He trusted Agni completely.

The new god collapsed unto the ground, and stared at his bloody pairs of hands.

"What am I?" He knew what he used to be; once he had been Azazel and Go'El. But they were not him.

As he spoke, a putrid liquid leaked through the holes in his lips and cheeks, spilling and then seeping into the cracked stony layers. He felt his essence deep within the rock shake and boil in parallel with his pain. All around the basin, the ground moaned, shook, and then split open. Geseyers of noxious fluids spewed forth, raining the basin with sulfur and fumes.

The sickly god felt his taint spreading, seeping further and further, farther and farther. A panic gripped him. He had no idea who he was, what he was, or what could have over-powered a god. But there were others, of that he was sure. He had heard them, thier cold words and quick footsteps. He felt a pang of hope, fighting its way through the knotted flesh of his body.

Perhaps they could answer his questions. Perhaps they would welcome him. Perhaps they could even heal him.

Or perhaps they had made him this way...

And the pang in his chest suddenly knew the company of hatred, fierce bile-tasting hatred. Either way, he would not let his corruption get out of hand, yet. He dug his hands deep into the earth and pulled at the roots of the stone, cracking and shaking the basin. Piece by piece, the stone sundered and snapped and finally tore away. The colossal earth mote floated upward, away from the rubble that fell from the sides of the pit to fill it with gravel and boulders. Azazel/Go'El poured his power into the earthmote, tying it to him, and vanished with it into the ether.

Sparing only a moment to direct a withering glare at Leaf,Agni quickly moved next to Zebus, and the smell of burning angel filled the air as the Flamelord lashed out with streams of liquid fire, burning his way through the angel masses.

STOP! he shouted at the Angels, who simply ignored him and continued trying to reach Zebus.

Still fighting as angels scrabbled over his form, trying to reach the God of Death and overwhelm him, Agni reached out to the seed of power given him by Leaf and drew it near, dancing it up and over the sea of bodies until it hovered above Agni himself.

And then Agni willed it to burn.

The seed burst into flame, and the flame spread, fueled now not by the small amount of matter in the seed itself, but by the divine power that Leaf and Agni had both imbued the seed with. It spilled past the physical boundaries of the seed, and grew in-place in the air, larger and larger until a massive bonfire blazed over the heads of the angels and Gods. The fighting slowed as the angels looked upwards, uncertain as to what to make of this new thing above them. And then the flame began to divide itself as beings of flickering fire and light dripped from the bottom of the bonfire like some strange sort of paradoxical rain. In form they were reminiscent of the Angels... no legs to speak of, just a broad base of fire that roared and crackled around a thin upper torso from which long, dextrous arms and hands flickered in and out of existence. The rain of fire continued to fall, and soon a circle of the beings surrounded Agni and Zebus and a small number of Angels. Angi spat magma and those angels died, reappearing next to Leaf along with a pile of other angels who cried out for their God to heal them so they could go and fight once more. One angel, with murderous rage in its eyes, charged towards Agni,but instead burnt up as it crossed the line of fiery beings and appeared next to Leaf once more in excruciating pain. A quiet settled over the impromptu battlefield and Agni glared at Leaf.

We will speak more later, TeaLord. I do not think you know what you have created here. Agni shouted over the flames.

Agni turned to Zebus.

GO. The God commanded, moments before pushing upwards away from the surface and speeding away towards the rising sun. As Zebus also departed, the beings who had protected them seemed to flicker and fade from sight, transforming into tiny sparks that danced away into the sky, but Agni could feel them following him.

3 (2 from Leaf) AP: Populate Agni'Vohda. Fire Elementals who are servants of Agni, but can and do serve others and do have some degree of free will. Not natural warriors, they are, instead, designed to be saboteaurs and assassins, able to vanish into a single spark of fire or transform into a roaring elemental blaze at will.

As Zebus was leaving, the angels came to and rushed him. At first he felt pain, then nothing. He looked down at his blood stained pants. Instead of running, he slashed a few of the closest to him, sending them right back to Leaf. Turning to Leaf he drops his sword.

Do you see what you have done? Can you now see what you have created?

And with that the swarm overtakes Zebus. Stabbing and continueously until Zebus no longer moved, and even then some still stabbed and slashed. His essence long since left his now dead body and gone into the great beyond just like he commanded it to when he made it.

His dead form lays there shredded and torn by Leaf's merciless killers for all to see and witness.

Onus stands idle, watching the brief battle without moving. Afterall, no one had asked for his assistance, and none seemed to need it. The humor that Leaf spoke of was lost to him, though it was impressive to see the others defending the Death God against so many adversaries. Seeing the movements of the angels, a curious thought occured to Onus. With the tip of one of his massive wings, he begins to draw in the dust while he watches, and a form takes shape, similar to the angels, and to the elementals that Agni forms, but different...

Leaf shrugged and shook his head. "He meddles without permission, mutilates without second thought, causes harm to himself, and blames others. Order protect us from such fools. But, in the end, he got what he wanted: Death ended one life."

He wanted to not waste another moment on Zebus, as every moment spent on him had been a waste, and move on with life. Perhaps a little heartless, but Leaf never claimed he had a heart. However, in memory for the honor he would have given to the fool in life, if he had been allowed, Leaf waved a hand and grey grass appeared over the body, decomposing it, turning it into dirt. Black flowers sprouted. As the angels dispursed, the breeze from their parting causes the flowers to quiver, and they looked a little like a small man in a black robe and a round hat walking through the grass. But in the breeze, they produced a horrible screach, like that of the angels Zebus had mutilated, warning mortals off.

"Now Mighty Onus," the god said, turning away from Zebus's entirely self-inflicted tragedy, "those are interesting things. May I ask what they are?"

1AP Nourish - Leaf creates the twilight garden, the only place in the world where odd flowers in the shape of men grow. They are highly poisonous, and can quickly kill anyone foolish enough to pick them despite their hideous warning screams.

He wanted to watch them first. Watch them in the dark before he asked them.

Azazel/Go'El stood at the base of the crater, and moved his gnarled hands through the miasmic fumes let loose by the many geysers. The thick clouds gathered together and surrounded the god.

"My siblings, where are you? Show yourselves." he whispered. The clouds rolled and stretched out before him. Wisps of smoke took the forms of mountains, and glaciers, and gods that towered over their creation. Echoes of thier words, raspy and distant, were spoken by the wisps. The smoke shifted and danced in copy of the gods' movements and motions. Suddenly a legion of wisps appeared arrayed next to the tiniest puff of smoke. Azazel/Go'El was taken aback. "How many of you are there? How could so many escape my noti..." But there was an essence within them, and it was decidedly different from a few that stood among them. They...were nearly powerless in comparison. "They-they are not gods. Weaker. Smaller. But what else could there be aside from deities? Can such frail things exist?" A multitude of thoughts swam within his mind, but for every thought there were twice as many doubts.

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. -Revelation 21:6

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.-John Donne, Meditation XVII

But it was too late. As Angi sped away, he spared a look backwards, and Zebus had been too slow. The angels, those that remained able to fly, swarmed the God of Death and, fittingly, the God died. A wisp of smoke escaped from Agni's mouth as he contemplated how very strange and bizarre the moments since his genesis had been.

East he flew, towards the rising sun, which glinted off of a large expanse of shallow water, for just as there were no mountains on this world, neither were there trenches in the oceans. Eventually, the God tired and descended towards the surface of the ocean, feeling the spray against him and burst to steam. Agni decided that he did not much like the water, but that it was better than the cold, for the water could at least be hot.

Agni settled just over the spray of the water, staring down into the depths. He thought for a long time, and kept coming back to the same points. Agni felt alone. Zebus was dead, Leaf was a megalomaniac, Onus was an enigma, and Pruinus was, obviously, completely alien. Had there not been a ravenous swarm of Angels now given free will and a poor grasp of their emotions on the loose, Agni would not have cared about his state. As it was... the vision of Zebus being pulled back to earth danced in Angi's memory, looping over and over and over.

I shall create a worthy ally for myself. One who is not an intermediary, but who is my true child. He declared to no one in particular.

Angi sucked in a great breath of air, and blew downwards. The water was pushed outwards by the breath, and soon a flat plane of bedrock, something near ten feet down, was exposed, with a ring of water towering over it on all sides. Agni blew, and the air began to rotate, pushing the water back without his needing to maintain it. Agni then fashioned with magma a hand and then a hammer. Agni dropped both into the middle of the land ringed with water and spoke.

Arise, Son of Agni. You must be strong to survive, my child. You have one hour. Create yourself. If you do, I shall claim you for my own and be your Father. If you do not, I shall let the waters claim you. Your time starts Now.

Agni opened his mouth and let out a thin stream of Magma to provide the hand and hammer with raw materials to work with, and waited.

The countless wisps then swarmed a billow of smoke, dragged it into submission, and the billow disipated into the hazy air. "Is that possible?" he whispered. His bloodshot eyes moved erraticaly from scene to scene. "To kill a god? And how quickly they turn upon each other! They betray each other..."

Caustic bile dripped menacingly from his lips.

"And they betrayed me."

He felt the hatred within him nearly swallow his hope, tearing the muscles and ligaments of his body apart. Azazel/Go'El felt a terrible itch from his sores whixh still splatered and secreted blood. His hands furiously tore his skin apart, bursting cysts like geysers. But his eyes lay fixed upon the smoke.

He continued to watch, transfixed.

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. -Revelation 21:6

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.-John Donne, Meditation XVII

Reality rippled, unseen by the gods nearby, so focused on their conversation. Chaos broke forth as existence twisted and strained. Clouds gathered in the barren sky, a torrent of lightning arcing between them filling the air with a pungent odor. The ground began to shake and jump, groaning as if in agony, loose rocks leaping into the air to shatter into a fine grit swirling along the ground as a sudden wind danced around the assemblage.

The storm intensified, lightning tearing violently across the sky, flashing rapidly in all directions, doubling, forking, over and over until the sky burned and thunder rolled forth in an ominous fury. The earth cracked, tearing itself asunder, leaving loong jagged scars across the bains as the surrounding mountains threatned to crumble under the strain. And then, as abruptly as it all began, it all ceased.

The moment of stillness afterwards seemed all the worse for the cacophony of light and sound that had just abated. Below, the stone rippled like water as a single point began to rise skyward, a figure emerging from the stone until he stood in plain view of those above. He turned his gaze skyward upon the gods who remained. "I have risen, he who shall bring that which is needed. Let it begin now."

A single wave of his hand and the heavens cried and where those first blessed drops fell, grasses and shrubs filled the basin with their vibrant greenery and the mountains wept for the fallen god, filling the great gaps in the earth with water.

1 AP - Command Land - New rivers rush from springs in the mountains, flowing into the cracked earth and forming a deep cold lake at it's center beneath Marcus.

1 AP - Nourish Land - Rain falls within the mountain basin and shrubs and grasses begin to grow. These plants are simply normal wildflowers, shrubs and trees.They life and die naturally as is the natural order..

http://community.wizards.com/play-by-post_haven The Play-by-Post recruitment hub for the forums. Stop by, join us, and sign up for some games while you are there

Pruinus tried to fight off the angels desperately, hurling spears of ice at them.

But as the angels departed she saw that she could not help.

Wordlessly, she stared the gods broken and torn body for what could have been an eternity. She knew she should not feel sad for his death, yet she could not help feel anguished.

Still silent, not muttering a word to the other gods, she departed them and strode down to her crown of ice she had created. She sat atop the highest mountain for hours, contemplating what she saw.

Had he really died?COULD gods die?

She sat longer still. Finally, she picked herself up and strode down the mountain a little, until she reached a point where the glacier had stabbed through the stone. She softly pressed the plam of her hand against the glacier, and cracks appeared in the ice, forming a door 20 feet high at her command. Upon opening the grand doors, she found a large, spacious hall carved into the glacier. As she had wished, dotted around the room where pillars of ice, around five feet high.

She focused for a second, closing her eyes. Upon opening her eyes again. On each of the pillars was a perfect, flawless ice replica of the gods she considered family.

Onus, Leaf, Agni and herself were represented in these ice sculptures, each in a dramatic pose fitting their personality.

She carved each of them a epitome, pointing her finger at the pillar below as the ice screeched.

Onus Onus sculpture depicted the god sitting down, his arms wrapped around his knees as his wings uncurled.Agni - The Flame LordChoosing to show a more favourable side of Agni, he appeared to be laughing comically as lava dripped from his mouth onto the pillar surface, supporting the rest of the sculpture.LeafLeaf's pose portrayed him holding his spear with two hands, brandishening it forward as his face contorted, his lips forming the word "Yield"Pruinus - The Cold MotherPruinus didn't know her to portray herself without appearing too humble and meak, whilst avoiding the opposite extreme of appearing arrogant. As such, she decided on a simple pose showing her mid stride.

Amused slightly, she stood on a pillar next to the scultpure of herself and pulled the same pose. Were anyone to be watching, they would have great difficulty telling the two apart. After all, the others were sculptures of their true forms, this was basically a mirrored version of herself.

Laughing to herself slightly, she became grim and foreboding once again as she stepped to the far end of the hall, pushing open another door that she had commanded to exist. The room in the hall ahead was a lot smaller, and only contained one pillar in its centre. She hoped that is all it would ever need. Shutting her eyes again, she crafted a great sculpture of Zebus, with the epitome below:

Zebus - The Death Lord.His sculpture showed his lighter side, hunched forward slightly sipping from his tea with a grand smile on his face.

As she solemnly left the hall containing Zebus, the doors closed behind her as if pulled by ghosts. She pointed at the doors again, as words engraved themselves on these doors.

Herein are the Lords Of Creation, although perished and defeated, their legacy remains on all things, and they live on in their creations.

Again she walked out of the main hall, the doors creaking shut behind her.

One last time, she engraved words upon the doors with the will of her mind.

The Halls Of CreationThese halls house monuments to the Lords Of Creation, the patrons of the universe and of all things.

She knew not why she had created these halls, she had no plans to tell anyone of them. Mainly, she supposed it was a way to pay her respects to Zebus, the fallen god of death. Perhaps one day someone shall discover them, and marvel at the monuments to her allies.

---

AP - 1 AP spent command landPruinus has created the halls of creation, a monument to all the gods of creation, dead and alive. The halls are magically protected and resistant to most damage, although this does have limits.

He commanded the fumes to repeat themselves. Over and over they rolled and spoke in thier rasy voices untill the god had seen enough. These siblings of his, they were indeed treacherous. And even a god had fallen to thier machinations.

"But Why?" he whispered. As he spoke aloud, the fumes drifted gently apart, floating into the sallow skies of the Godcrater. Rivers of toxins poured out from the bubbling, hissing pools and fountains. Sweeping dust and gravel, the wide rivers formed a lake of swirling grays and suflurous yellows. Azazel/Go'El walked down to its edge, staring at his distorted reflection.

"Power, of course, but...something else?" There was a long silence, only broken by the crashing of the rivers on the rocks. And then, he understood.

"Jealousy."

His working eyes lit up with rage. The pool in front of him boiled and frothed at its bank.

"They were jealous of my place!! Of my power!! They hated me and together sought me DEAD!!"

The Godcrater shook, and the skies darkened with the billowing fume-clouds. The hatred within him froze. An icy sensation, heavy as stone, clawed its way across his body, conquering and subduing with no resistance. The rumblings of the ground quieted, and the quakes became trembles. The pool now only bubbled.

He knew what to do. And how to do it...

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. -Revelation 21:6

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.-John Donne, Meditation XVII

A Hand and a hammer fell from the skies. The Hand grasped as it sought blindly for what would make it whole. The world seemed to shake as the Hand found what it had sought and so the forging began. An anvil was made out of thin air and a substance most particular appeared upon it. The Essence of a newly born God. A white fire that shone brighter then the very sun! The air around it seemed to live as it moved back and forth upon the dark iron that was its cradle.

And so the Hand raised the Hammer and here under the light of the lifegiving sun the Smith made himself. The hammer fell time and time again as the essence was hammered in to Substance, Substance was made it to matter and matter was made in to glorious life!

It was so that within an hour, The Smith arose from his Anvil. Shook his head and sparks flew in all directions from his long, curly hair. He had the form of a giant of a man. Skin the colour of sot, eyes burning with the very fire of his Father and a long, gray beard. He wore nothing, for there was nothing there to hide.

The Smith stood there beside his anvil and breathed. His eyes were closed..and a thin smile rested upon his lips. It was..good to be alive...and there he remained. His father could wait after all.

Thereus, SmithLord, I did not create you, you did. The only answer to why your form appears the way it does lies within you, for I merely told you CREATE, and you fashioned yourself like this.

As for your purpose, my son, it is twofold. The first is to Create, for that is your primary command. What you create is for you to choose, but we are to be the Lords of your creation.

The second purpose is to be my son. To by my ally and bodyguard as I am your lord and protector. We are not the only Gods, Thereus. There are others, the ColdMother who may choose to destroy us if we grow complacent against her icy self and the TeaLord, whose thirst for power knows no end, and who has already slain one of the other of our number. There is also the StoneLord, Onus, yet he is the child of the ColdMother as well, and your half-brother. I am unsure as to whether or not he can be trusted.

These are your purposes, and these are the conditions for your divinity. And so now I ask you, Thereus, Smithlord, my Son. Do you swear to uphold both of these commands of your Father?

Leaf hesitated. Onus had been slow to word and action in the little time he had known him. Yet as time stretched on, Leaf became unsure if he would move again, or if perhaps his mind was elsewhere, in some deep and otherworldly thoughts. Hesitant and cautious, Leaf nodded respectfully to the stone god and then backed away.

The others had all left. Even the angels had gone their way. Leaf was alone.

He put his arms around himself. He didn't like being alone. He walked over to Zebus' burial mound and watched the deathblooms grow. Being where another god had been, even if that god was dead, made him feel a little better. Not so forsaken.

Had he done right?

He certainly hadn't wanted Zebus to die, or even for them to be at odd. He'd asked Zebus to join with him, for death to be an honored part of life. Why couldn't he have just accepted?

When Zebus refused, he'd been angry. But he had tried to remove himself. Agni had kept him there.

Agni.

Leaf turned and looked at the fading sun. He worried that Agni didn't like him. Was it just fire's way, to be uncaring? Or had he offended him? He gave him a title, he gave him a place in Life, he gave him his power, he gave him command of his angels. Did it not matter? Would fire just take everything it was given and still want more?

Alone on Zebus' grave, Leaf shivered. It wasn't because of the cold. It wasn't cold. Pruinus had left.

Pruinus. Did she understand? He didn't want to be in charge. He was just meant to be a leaf tumbling in the wind. But when he had seen the gods talking and nothing getting done... well, the world needed order. It needed to be built up. Someone has to lead.

Leaf didn't think that should be him, but no one else had stepped forward. He had even asked them all if they wanted to lead. He didn't blame them for not wanting to. It's easy being just a group of equals: you don't have to worry about the welfare of everyone else. You can be free to be selfish.

"No," Leaf said out loud. "I can't doubt myself. They can't believe that I'm capable if I don't believe it."

The god sighed. He might not be the best leader possible, but he was the best that the world had at the moment.

As he exhaled, the deathblooms moved in the breeze and let out their warning scream. Among them Leaf saw something. Zebus' sword.

"I am sorry we couldn't be friends in life," he said to the grave. "I would have made you part of life. I would honored you above everyone else. Everything I am, I'd have given to you. Why couldn't you admit that death follows life?"

Leaf picked up the fallen god's weapon. He closed his eyes and whispered to the universe. "I rescind my laws."

All life paused for the briefest of moments. "Death follows life." Leaf opened his eyes, and his original intent was put into place.

"You didn't allow me to honor you in life, brother," Leaf said, "But I will honor you in death. I will make your memory what it should have been." Something in the essence of the sword repaired itself.

Leaf drew the sword and spun in a circle. Shadows across the world moved and absorbed into the blade. Control over death.

He contemplated leaving it on Zebus's grave, but that could be dangerous. The imbalance that the end of the ancient progenitor had caused meant new gods were arising in the world. This weapon was too potent to leave unguarded.

Pruinus, perhaps. She might like that. A challenge the power to overcome life. What better way to motivate life to improve?

But she might still be mourning. This wasn't a time to disturb her. Leaf hefted the blade, dozens of times larger than himself as it was, and put it over his shoulder. He turned away for the sun and began to walk away. He'd call this direction west, he thought.

As he walked, he began to sign a tune.

"Here it's safe, here it's warmHere the daisies guard you from harmHere your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them trueHere is the place where I love you."

Non-AP: Since Zebus isn't there to object, Leaf rescinds his laws that made death an unnatural end to life, and instead enacts what he had wanted from the start: for death to follow life and be the honored end to it. The angels retain their uniqueness, however, since AP was spent on that and I'd assume Ap would be needed to change it.Non-AP: Unwilling to leave the death domain just free floating, Leaf puts it into Zebus's sword and carries it with him, with the intent of giving it to Pruinus when next they meet. Since Zebus is pretending to be dead, I'm assuming he doesn't prevent this from happening. Since AP isn't being spent, I'm assuming also that he can recall it whenever he wants.

Onus finishes his Sketching in silence as Leaf watches. Pondering his response to Leaf's question. Even as the lightning played overhead, and a new entity arose, Onus remained intent on his project. The image had two legs and two arms. It's body was both stout and long, showing a powerful build. The faces were crude, but Onus thought it was a nice touch by Zebus, he wanted to share this too. Finally, he was finished and he looked at Leaf for a moment. This is creation... As I am given to do. Turning back to the image he pondered further in silence before naming the creature. Laying his hands to either side of the image, he poured forth his power, causing the earth to raise up through the little frame of dust, again and again, filling the valley with the creatures.

These shall be Galeb Duhr... and they shall be blessed of the Stone-Steeped. The earth shall be theirs to command. And Onus smiled. Hmmm, this place has too many... Others. The Galeb Duhr must have a place of their own. Rising up to his full height, he turned around and examined the valley, noticing the changes that had occured to his landing spot. And in turn noticing the newcomer.

Welcome to you, Bringer... I am Onus. One among Many. His eyes briefly return to the spot where one of the Others had fallen before returning to the new one. I hope you find peace. Then he stepped over the mountain ring and with a mighty stomp, the earth cracked and shuddered, sending up a string of mountains that lead away from the world crown as far as could be seen.

Turning to his creations he spoke, Come, and find a home for yourselves among my footsteps. He took to the sky and with his sword of magma, he struck the mountain chain repeatedly as he flew down the line. The result was a land of high peaks and deep gorges. Rivers of lava flowed through the deepest reaches. Occasionally a volcano was found in the stretch. Upon reaching the end, Onus returned the the world crown and grasping one of the glaciers, he tore it from it perch and flew back over his new creation, crumbling the ice as he went, dusting the tall peaks with ice.

Having reached the end again, he sat and rested. He called out his blessing upon the creatures that followed after him, seeking to cross the great chasm with the stone powers he had imbued into them, just to find their maker at the end. Some may fall, but they shall remain as stone... The ones who continue shall honor the ones who came before... The ones who come after shall be blessed by their predecessors and shall be plentyful. His wings curled about his form, enfolding him and leaving his form to look much like the rest of the chain of mountains.

"You didn't allow me to honor you in life, brother," Leaf said, "But I will honor you in death. I will make your memory what it should have been."

It was a potent promise. But more than that, it was an invitation. As Leaf's voice faded into silence, the Deathblooms shook and quivered, then, one by one, began to burst, small, silent explosions of bleak petals and black seeds, sowing the fallow garden with the promise of life-to-be. Reaped from their flowers, the Deathbloom petals danced lazily through the air.

The invitation was a subtle one. There was no earth-shaking maelstrom, no raging impact of stone and godflesh, no glorious confirmation. One moment, the Garden of Twilight was empty, and the next, it was not. What petals remained found their tumblings suddenly altered, swept up into a lazy cyclone around the garden.

A divine wind took hold of the grasses and barren stalks, raising their many voices into a single, susurrus of a word:

Movement in the corner of the eye. A rounded hat. A sloshing cup of tea.

The figure appeared on the outskirts of the angels, just within the sight but always obstructed and indistinct. The curious ones strained thier eyes. Could it be? they wondered. It was probably nothing more than a glimmer off of the glaciers or the movement of a shrub in the breeze...

...but what if it wasn't?

There were four of them, four scouts in different mountain passes. They would see the smallest sliver of a kimono and rush to the bend along the hillsides, only to find nothing. And when they were ready to turn around, the faintest whisper of a familiar voice begged them to look one last time. The farther they went, the sharper the figure appeared. But they also became more and more uncomfortable with their loneliness. Every rustle drew a double-take, every cloud of dust was suspect, and every turn along the mountain was almost there. A pair of eyes were always watching.

The angels, wracked with paranoia and an intolerance of the unknown, finally came to the summit of the mountain. One by one they encountered the others. They shared stories of the elusive figure, and in doing so became dreadfully certain of their fears. Leaf must know at once.

They were about to take off when they heard the Deathlord call out to them, "And they are a faceless army...Do you enjoy the faces that i carved into you?" Zebus stood before them, swordless and still blood-stained, but more confidant than he did before. The angels drew thier weapons and charged their quarry. A malevolent gleam flashed in the eyes of the god.

As the angels crahed into the god, he disapated into a thick, noxious haze that surrounded them. They struggled and slashed at the haze, but one by one they were restrained by a deathgrip about thier throats. A sudden wave of pain washed over them, as if some inborn link had been severed. All of them were drawn close together, close enough to see the fear in each others' eyes.

The haze condensed, then vanished. Only the cool glacial air and the scent of rugged wildflowers remained.

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. -Revelation 21:6

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.-John Donne, Meditation XVII

" You gave me tools and materials. My current form is therefore your responsibility as much as my own. Notheless I think...do have to thank you, Lord Father. To be able to form my self was a good gift. "

Thereus merely looked as his father spoke. His face merely a mask of iron showing no emotions at all as his father brought judgement upon the other Lords of Creation.

" I...swear that I am your Son. I swear that I will honour you and protect you, Lord Father. Furthermore I swear that my creations will all live and cherish the fire and the heatness that dwells beneath the ground. "

As he finished his vows, he turned his back to his father and looked out over the world. It was a fair one even though there was not much to see. There was much potential there though and he already knew where to start.

" Father, I desire to be alone for a while. I want to see this world of ours and perhaps...make a few improvements..."

An eager grin appeared on God´s face as he prepared to throw himself out in the world and break it apart!